Disk-film-feeding means



F. E. KOELLA.

DISK FILM FEEDING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.21,1917.

1 ,364:,505. Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET l- F. E. KOE-LLA.

DISK FILM FEEDING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2|. 917- 2 SHEET$SHEET 2.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK E. KOELLA, 0F TOLEDO, OHIO.

DISK-FILM-FEEDING MEANS.

Application filed April 21,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK E. KoELLA, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Disk-Film-Feeding Means; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a "full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will'enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to motion picture machines, and particularly to machines of this character employing films of disk form.

The primary object of my invention is the provision, in a machine of the class described, of improved means for imparting intermittent feeding movements to the film to successively move the picture panels thereof into projecting position, whereby to enhance the practicability and commercial value of such machines.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, and while, in its broader aspect, it is capable of embodiment in numerous forms, a preferred embodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention with the casing in sectionand partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1 with parts broken away. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 in Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a section on the line l4: in F ig.- 2. Fig. 5 is a sectional detail of the film projecting means. Fig. 6 is a perspective'view of the film clamping member, and Fig. 7 is an end detail of the film feeding members in engagement with the film.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a case in which the mechanism embodying the invention is disposed, said case having a part- 2 in one side thereof through wh ch light from a lantern is projected. The side of the case 1 opposed to that in which the part 2 is mounted is provided with an m wardly protuberant port1on 3 having an opening 4 and projecting device 5 1n tra nsverse register with the light pro ecting opening of the part 2.

A standard 6 rises within the case 1 from the bottom thereof and has its top broad- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 4. i921.

1917. Serial No. 163,760.

ened lengthwise of the case and provided with a guide slot or run-way 7, which is slightly inclined from one end to the other thereof, as shown, and for the purpose hereinafter described. A carriage 8 is mounted in the slot 7 for movements lengthwise thereof, being guided by flanged wheels 9, which are carried thereby and engage the walls of said slot. A shaft 10 is carried by and projects from the carriage 8 transversely of the standardfi and has a collar 11 mounted on one end thereof to form a hub flange to which a disk form of film 12 may be clamped by a clamping member 13 or in any other suitable manner. The clamping member 13, in the present instance, has a thumb-piece 1 1 projecting axially from its outer side and provided with a slot 15 with which a pin 16 in the outer end of the shaft 10 may have releasable locking engagement.

The film 12 has the picture panels successively arranged in spiral order on one face thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 1 and as well understood in the art. The forward edge of the film 12 is disposed between the picture projecting openings of the case, and it is necessary, in order to compensate for the spiral arrangement of the pictures on the film, that the film when rotated have a slow feeding movement transverse to its axis. This forward feeding movement of the film is determined by a movement of the carriage 8 down the inclined guideway 7 in the standard 6i The means employed for imparting properly timed intermittent rotary and transverse feeding movements to the film and in which the feature of my present invention resides, will now be described.

A pair of arallel shafts 17 and 18 are mounted longitudinally of the case 1 in bearings 19 and carry a pair of feed wheels 20 and 21, respectively, at their inner ends at opposite sides of the forward edge portion of the film 12 in opposed gripping engagement therewith. These feed wheels are of like form and each is provided on the periphery thereof with one or more flattened surfaces which coact with the film, as shown in Fig. 7. In the present instance the wheels are shown as being of rectangular form, the feeding of the film taking place upon a turn ing of the feed wheels to place successive sides of the wheels in opposed film gripping relation, as is apparent. In order to permit the feed wheels to have the relative lateral.

movement which is necessary by reason of the flattened peripheral surface, the inner bearing 19 of the shaft 18 is set a distance from the wheel 21 to permit a flexin of the free end portion of the shaft 18. The axes of the shafts 17 and 18 are disposed in a horizontal plane which is slightly above the horizontal plane of the film axis when the film is first placed in the machine with the outer row of pictures in projecting position so that each turning or feeding movement of the feed wheels 20 and 21 will effect a slight transverse drawing of the film to the right to compensate for the gradual inward working of the pictures toward the center or the film due to the spiral arrangement thereof. It will, of course, be understood that each feeding or turning movement of the feed wheels is sufficient to rotate the film a distance equal to the depth of a picture panel. As the film is moved to the right the carriage 8 moves down inclined guideways 7 so as to gradually lower the axis of the film with respect to the horizontal plane of the feed wheel axes thereby causing the extent of transverse feeding of the film to be gradually increasec for successive film feeding movements of the wheels 20 and 21 to compensate for the gradual Shortening of the successive convolutions of the picture spiral from the outer to the inner end thereof. It is evident that if the axes of the feed wheels 20 and 21 were disposed in the horizontal plane of the film axis that a turning of said wheels would impart a rotary movement only to the film. On the other hand the placing of the feed wheel axes in ofiset relation to the horizontal plane of the film axis, or the plane of transverse feeding movements thereof will impart a transverse feeding movement to the film to an extent corresponding to the extent of offset of the feed wheels from said plane.

The shafts 17 and 18 are geared together at their outer ends, as at 22, and the outer end of the shaft 17 is extended beyond its gear and provided with a ratchet-wheel 23 (Fig. 4) having a number of teeth thereon corresponding to the number of faces on each feed wheel periphery. A bar 24: extends from a crank-pin 25 on the end of the motor shaft 26 and has its free end forked and straddling the ratchet-wheel 23 in position for a pin 27 on the forked end of said arm to engage successive teeth on the ratchetwheel as the arm is reciprocated by a turning of the operating crank. A shaft 26 is connected to and driven by a motor 28, a spring 29 connects the bar 2% to a bracket part 30 within the case which bracket carries the motor 23, shaft bearings 19 and other parts. The spring 29 acts to yieldingly re tain the bar 24 in operative engagement with the ratchet-wheel. A shaft 31 projects from the motor 23 oppesitionto the shaft 1 aseaeoe 26 and projects through the inwardly protuberant portion 3 of the case. A shutter member 32 is carried by the shaft 31 within the case part 3 and is adapted to turn once for each film feeding movement of the wheels 20 and 21 and to obstruct the pro jected light rays during each film feeding movement.

interposed between the film 12 and the light opening in the part 2 is a shutter 33, which, when the operating mechanism is at rest, is adapted to stand in position to obstruct the projection of the light rays against the film, thereby lessening the liability of fire. The shutter 33 is pivoted at its lower end to a bracket 34rprojecting from the case side below the light projecting part 2 and is connected by a governor 35 to a shaft 36, journaled in bearings 37 on the bracket 30' This shaft has connection through a belt 38 and suitable pulleys with the motor shaft 26. Vhen the operating parts are at rest the governor holds the shutter 33 in position for an opaque portion thereof to stand between the light projecting opening and the film and when the governor is driven at a predetermined speed, the governor parts relatively expand and move the shutter 33 into position for an opening 39 therein to register with the light projecting opening. A coiled contractile spring 40 connects the shutter 33 with the top of the ad jacent bearing 37 and assists the governor in moving the shutter to operative position.

It is evident in the operation of my machine that a film disk 12 is placed on the carriage shaft 10 when the carriage is at the left or outer end of its movement and the carriage is then moved to the right a desired extent to place the outer edge of the film between the feed wheels 20 and 21 in position for the first picture in the series to be projected through the projecting lens 5 when the machine is started.

Upon a starting of the motor the feed wheels 20 and 21 are intermittently driven to impart a rapid intermittent feeding movement to the film disk to successively place the picture panels on the film in register with the projecting parts, each feeding movement of the feed means being sufficient to move the film a distance equal to the depth of a picture panel. As the feeding progresses the film is gradually moved to the right to suit the spiral arrangement of the pictures on the film by reason of the It is evident that I have provided a simple and efiicient means for imparting feeding movements to the film and that such means is not only adapted to rotate the film to successively place the picture panels thereon in projecting position but also to move the film transversely .of its axis in accordance with the spiral arrangement of the panels.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specific'construction, arrangement or form of the parts, as it is capabl of numerous modifications without departing from the spirit of the claims and that while I have particularly described the film feeding means for use in connection witha picture projecting apparatus, it is also appropriate for and adapted for use in motion picture taking apparatus.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a disk film mounted for rotary movements, of means having opposed feed wheelsengaging said film, and means for driving said feed wheels to impart intermittent rotary movements to said film.

2. The combination with a disk film mounted for rotary movements, of means having opposed feed-wheels yieldingly engaging said film, and means for driving said feed-wheels to impart intermittent rotary movements to said film.

3. The combination with a disk film mounted for rotary movements, of feed Wheels mounted to engage said film in opposing relation at opposite sides thereof, said wheels having corresponding flattened surfaces, and means for intermittently rotating said wheels to move the flattened surfaces successively into engagement with. the film to impart intermittent rotary feeding movements thereto.

4. The combination with a disk film mounted for rotary movements, of a pair of feed wheels engaging said film in opposed relation at opposite sides thereof, said feed wheels having corresponding flattened surfaces and one wheel being mounted for yielding transverse movements, and means operable to rotate said wheels to impart successive rotary feeding movements to the film.

5. The combination with a disk film mounted for rotary and transverse feeding movements, of means engaging said film and operable to impart intermittent rotary and transverse'feeding movements thereto, said means having a pair of feed wheels in engagement with said film in opposed relation at opposite sides thereof.

. 6. The combination with a disk film mounted for rotary and transverse feeding movements, and means operable to impart intermittent rotary and transverse feeding movements to the film and having a pair of opposed feed wheels in engagement with opposite sides of the film, said wheels having corresponding flattened surfaces.

7. In combination, a disk film, a carriage carrying said film for rotary and transverse feeding movements, means guiding the transverse movements of said carriage, and means operable to impart rotary and transverse feeding movements to said film, said means having opposed feed wheels in engagement with the film with their axes out of parallel with the plane of transverse movements of the film axis.

'8. In combination, a disk film, means carrying said film for rotary movements and movements transverse to its axis, and drive means having rotary parts coacting in opposed relation with said film and operable to impart intermittent rotary movements to the film, the rotary parts of said drive means having their axes offset with respect to the plane of transverse movement of the film axis to cause the film to have movements transverse to its axis when rotated by said drive means.

. In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification.

FREDERICK E. K 'ELLA. 

